The Running Dead
by Justcallmecrowley
Summary: Judges Dredd and Anderson are fighting for not only their lives, but the lives of a small group of civilians in a world inhabited by the living dead. *We do not own either Dredd nor Anderson - we merely write about them. And I say 'we' because it is a friend and I writing this*
1. Chapter 1

The heat of the city during the day was despicable. The leather armored uniform literally had coils of heat rising off it as the Judges took to the rooftops for ease of shooting at the zombie civilians that had recently become zombies.

With all the drugs, poisons and radioactive material that polluted the cities, Dredd had decided that a zombie apocalypse was bound to happen. Judges and a few civilian survivors were left. They had raided the former 'Hall of Justice' for more weapons, and had groomed another sector for non-standard civilian weaponry as well.

The worst thing about this hell hole was that the zombies ran.

However, they were rather dumb as climbers so anywhere high was normally an advantage. Having very few ways of having fun or relaxing, Dredd and Anderson were taking watch on a random rooftop, shooting at a mosh pit of zombies trying to get at them from below.

The stench rising from the walking corpses was ghastly in the heat of the day. The first time Anderson caught a whiff of it she violently heaved up her stomach contents for an hour or so, but by now she was getting used to it and even finding ways to prevent herself and others from having to smell it. She started off with tying rags around the civilians faces, and using a scarf for herself. Dredd was another story, he insisted the smell didn't bother him but when Anderson found a stash of gas masks it seemed he couldn't wait to get his hands on one.

Anderson couldn't stand the silence, besides the shooting, so she decided to make conversation with Dredd above the noise of their guns. Surprisingly she hadn't lost her Lawgiver yet, it was nestled in its holster on her hip - patiently waiting to be used.

"Supplies wont last much longer. We will have to go out and search for food and ammunition soon, sir. I suggest we preserve as much ammo as possible…just in case we run into trouble when we leave." She knew they would run into trouble though, they always did. The radioactive, running cadavers were everywhere. She had added the last bit more for the civilians who were with them, that might over-hear her.

Dredd cracked his neck. "You're right…need to move soon while we still have ammo. The amount of zombies is as endless as day one, they don't seem to go away." He growled heavily, checking ammo in his twin pistols before standing up.

Dredd never minded violence but he was getting fed up with constantly having to avoid being bitten, and was tired of running. Luckily the tough leather and helmet made it near impossible to bite them as it would be for any normally dressed citizen.

"We can stick to the roofs I believe, done it before, its safer dropping in from above where they have trouble reaching." Dredd was glad these fuckers couldn't climb.

"Alright." Anderson stood up and stretched her arms high above her head then slung her 'stolen' sniper over her left shoulder. Unlike Dredd, she didnt have her helmet to protect her head and neck so she made sure it would be difficult to be attacked from behind. The attacker would have a hard time stabbing her from behind. She grabbed a bag full of weapons they found and heaved it over to the huddled group of shaken civilians. A mother held two children close, one of them was not hers but she had taken it upon herself to become their new mother. She had lost her daughter to this disease that plagued the city, and the child lost her father to a thug who mugged him. The rest of the civilians seemed to be alone, though Anderson knew they all wondered if their loved ones were okay. As well, they had makeshift weapons for self-protection, none of them looked strong enough to hack off a zombie's head though.

"Okay everyone, we are going to have to move out." Anderson said as calmly and with as much authority she could muster. She was met with groans and complaints of 'why cant we just stay here?', 'we're going to die if we leave', and her personal favourite 'drokk you! Why should we have to listen to you!'. Anderson knew she was becoming hardened by this whole mess. It had been 6 months of killing the living dead, being chased, losing people - not only to the zombies but to injuries and lack of food and clean water. The only thing that kept her going at this point was the thought of Dredd kicking her ass, and losing him. She felt as though she needed him as much as he needed her.

Dredd turned to the group, as usual his helmet hid much of his expression. As well, a typical scowl lingered on his lips as he stared at those that followed Anderson.  
"Remember," he grunted. "Its your choice if you want to follow us. If you want to go your own way, so be it. I'm sure you've got the smarts to stay alive without us." Dredd didn't have full intentions of being rude, but it sounded that way when the words were delivered with his usual tone, which of course often sounded pretty grumpy and uncaring to those that didn't know him.

His shotgun and what looked like an AR15 were fully loaded for their next supply run. The AR15 was at arms and ready for use. Supplies were always running low and while there was more than enough to go around for their group, accessing those supplies was a problem. If you weren't in peak cardiovascular shape you were probably already dead.

"Let's move. Try not to fall behind if you want live. Anderson, you can take the lead, I'll stay behind the group to watch the rear." He offered since she knew the routes they usually took. Dredd and Anderson often switched roles when their skills allowed it. They had often moved in this fashion. Since many of the civilians had weapons too, that kept their chances of survival higher than they could be.

Anderson lead them down the fire escape, knowing full well that there would be no zombies in it. The damn things still didn't figure out how to use doors, luckily for them. When they reached the bottom Anderson motioned for them to halt while she scouted the area to make sure there weren't any zombies lurking around, that might try to catch a quick bite. When it was all clear she came back for the others, only to be met by an oncoming horde. The zombies didn't seem to notice her at first, they just kept dragging their useless bodies forward. At least until Anderson tried to warn the others to stay inside.

"You guys, stay inside with Dredd! He'll protect you! I'm going to try to lead these creeps away. I'll double back and make sure you guys make it out after." she said in a hushed call but it was no use, the zombies heard and now had her locked in their sights. Excited groans began to rise from the horde as they picked up pace towards her. So Anderson did what she learned to do best in the past couple months, run and don't get bitten.

"Drokk," Dredd swore aloud to himself as he watched Anderson bolt ahead. Sometimes, each of them did something they weren't expecting, but now it was becoming a theme where they could expect it to happen sooner or later. Dredd had wanted them to stay together, not have Anderson zip ahead and risk her life again. Part of him considered giving her a brief lecture on that later when they had a new place to settle again, but now there was no time.

Dredd had the options of staying back for a bit or moving forward as planned. Anderson doubling back could be a great risk.

"I said we move together as a group." He growled to himself as he watched some of the zombies move after her. It was too risky, and he didn't like it. If he took the lead, the group was often behind him. It was never smart to go out alone to keep the zombies busy. Having at least one other person was the way to go. Having a buddy system was essential, and that was probably what irritated Dredd the most. _Yeah, a little talk is needed later._

He waited until the ominous figures of the zombies running after Anderson began to diminish in numbers, though some that had noticed the group began to move after THEM, as Dredd had expected. He hoped they would be able to hold their ground until Anderson drew off more of the zombies, but the chances of that were maybe 70% if luck was on their side.** If**. There were so many zombies, that many of them would start finding the group, especially if blood began to fall.

Now Dredd was forced to move to the front, and as the number attacking increased, he was forced to use a lot more ammunition. However, the numbers STILL weren't as bad as they could be thanks to Anderson. In the back of his mind of course, he hoped Anderson wouldn't fall into a 'trap' somewhere and get hurt, because he could only see so far ahead, especially since they were just now making their way outside.

* * *

Anderson sprinted down the street, hoping to outrun the quickly gaining brain-munchers. She took a turn down a winding back alley littered with corpses, her lungs burned from the stench and how hard she had been running. Anderson could feel the strange emotions from the zombies; hunger, adrenaline, excitement, and something that was scarily similar to joy. Luckily for her, they had no thoughts and no proper thought process. They just roamed in search of any form of food, she had even seen a group of them feeding on each other. _Take note Cassandra, study these freaks when you get back to Dredd and the group…if you make it back at all!_

The alley was a dead end, blocked off by a rather large and formidable brick wall. "Shit!" There was a door and a fire escape.

"Well, I'm fucked either way, right?" Anderson said, taking her brief moment of solitude to look at her options. She couldn't take the fire escape simply because it was too high up, she could go in through the door but it was dark and probably hid plenty of zombies - like walking into a trap, or she could stand her ground and kill as many freaks with a less than 14% chance of survival. _Looks like I'm taking a chance and going through that door._

* * *

Dredd hated having to hold his ground here - as the zombies kept finding them with each gunshot going off, the worse the situation got. He began to have the group actually back up as he considered the use of explosives or the Lawgiver. Minutes passed and Dredd was getting VERY impatient - even for him, who could be rather patient at times; such was an advantage and second nature for Dredd.

The civilians were complaining about the situation now, but they were doing their best to help. If a zombie swung too close, Dredd used his free arm to slice off the head and a couple other good gashes. It was a good work out for everyone, but eventually they'd tire. Dredd inwardly began to panic when more and more zombies began to get too close, but somehow they began to push out.

"We may have to use explosives, keep pushing through them," Dredd ordered in his usual calm voice.  
"Aaah drokk," yet another civilian complained as he heard the Judge.

* * *

Anderson cautiously ran into the open doorway and made sure to lock and bar the door behind her, in case any of the creepers had seen or heard her go in there. It was dark, but light from outside poured in through the front windows. She was in a store, a general goods store to be exact. Someone had obviously made an effort to defend it but didn't secure the back door by the looks of it. The manager's corpse lay on the ground, bloated from days in the humid building, the stench rolling off in waves of nauseating plumes. It appeared as though he was attacked from behind, but it was hard to tell from all the rotting, torn, sickly yellow flesh. He lay in a pool of his own dried blood. Maggots and other insects had already made homes in all the orifices of his body and wriggled around unbothered by Anderson's presence. She slowly and silently walked past the corpse and further into the store. Whatever had killed him might still be here.

Anderson checked the perimeter and secured the other exits before going about the isles looking for supplies. Things were scattered everywhere. Toeing some bottles of shampoo to the side, Anderson decided to scoop a couple bottles up for the mother and anyone else who might feel the need to shower if they ever got the chance. Further into the store Anderson found plenty of food and stuffed her bag full of it. A few isles to her right she found bags and stuffed those with more food, clothes, and medical supplies - seeing as there was plenty and no obstacle preventing her from obtaining it. _Gotta keep in mind this place is here. Maybe Dredd-…I need find something and fix my damn comm. I hope everyone is alright. And boy, are they going to be so happy I found this place!_ Anderson went about searching the store for possible tools to fix her comm but instead came across an old CB radio.

"Oh god, this better work" she whispered to herself as she clicked through the channels until she found the one Dredd and her operated on.

"Anderson to Dredd, do you read me? Anderson to Dredd, do you read me?" she repeated a few times but only heard static. She tried one more time. "Anderson to Dredd, are you okay?"

* * *

"Copy" Dredd replied with the faintest sign of surprise, shouldering his other primary weapon since the blade didn't require additional ammunition. "Holding- get back here stat." he growled- unable to prevent hiding some of his anger as he let go of the communicator button to take a single handed swing diagonally clean through another zombie's head - then another that ran at him behind it. Pivoting, he kept back another from a civilian near him. _We were supposed to transition together_. As the seconds passed endlessly, he got angrier, but he tried not to let it show.

Dredd proceeded to move through some of the zombies with the machete in one hand and the Lawgiver on the lowest mode possible with armor piercing rounds so they would go straight through the head and stop them short immediately. Dredd lived to fight- and that much was obvious now. It was as if his world was fading away as the adrenaline continued to flow through his veins, and for a moment he even forgot about the rest of the group when a zombie charged from the side. Luckily for him, just as he crossed arms to point the Lawgiver to the left another civilian saved him the effort. The mother and adopted child were still safe- and none of them had been bitten yet.

The group was capable of defending themselves, which was helpful, but regardless they needed more ammunition, and it wasn't like Dredd was going to share the Lawgiver. He could give up the other shotgun- which resembled something similar to a Benelli, but no way was he giving up the AR-15. That fired faster and suited his style better.

* * *

"Yes, sir, right away, sir." Anderson replied, relieved that he was still alive. She didn't doubt his combat or survival skills but now-a-days you could die at the drop of a credit, despite how good you are with a gun. One wrong turn and you could be bitten.

Anderson made sure all the exits to the store were shut, locked, boarded up, and reinforced. She was still hoping to show Dredd her nice little find when they got the chance.

She cautiously jogged down the streets, weapon at the ready. She decided to go with her own Russian Shasqua that she had pulled from a burning pile of rubbish. The blade hadn't warped and it was still sharp, if slightly rusted. Anderson assumed the sword had come from some sort of illegal antiques dealer. A handful of zombies had been in her path so she simply slashed her sword, it went through them like a hot knife in butter. The bodies crumpled to the ground, fluids squirting a little, bones finally snapping, and heads rolling away with a sick wet thud.

Anderson had finally made it back to the rest of the group. Smiling as she came up to Dredd, she still had blood in her hair and on her face. "Sir, I have a surprise for everyone!"

Dredd turned his head at the sound of her voice. Tense, he glanced the other way and checked his peripherals, still in his last fighting stance. "We need to keep moving, it's not safe here." Dredd commented flatly, knowing full well they had made too much noise from gun shots. He'd grabbed a grenade at his side literally right before she showed up - the grenade had been in his hand, the pin ready to be pulled just as the group of zombies he had his eye on were slayed by the returning blonde. Even amidst all the blood and guts of the ravenous zombies, Dredd still found her beautiful, even if he wouldn't admit it- especially not in front of the others.

"If you're ready to move as a group, at least to a higher level, then we can relax again." he glared at her through the helmet, only the scowl from his pursed lips visible for any readable facial expression.

Anderson was glad to see his scowl again, even though she sensed he was irritated.

"Yes, sir, I'll make sure everyone is ready to move out." she said happily, unable to hide her joy. She went about rounding everyone up and checking for wounds along the way.

This time Dredd lead the way and Anderson watched the rear of the group. The mother walked with Anderson and made small talk, which she found nice as opposed to the silent walks.

"My name is Lucinda." the mother said, "Thank you for leading the zombies away from us." she said, looking at the ground shyly.

"Mine is Cassandra." Anderson said politely. Deciding to take a quick reading on Lucinda, she found that one of Lucinda's children had been scratched a couple days ago. Being afraid of what the group or Judges might do, she kept it a secret but it wouldn't last for long. Her child was getting more sick by the day.

Looking Lucinda square in the face, Anderson had to ask her about it, "Lucinda...your daughter…"

"What, what about her?" Anderson could feel Lucinda's mind racing, hoping Anderson hadn't found out. She was getting scared for her child.

"Why didn't you say something sooner about her?" she whispered to Lucinda. Going on the defensive, Lucinda said "There is nothing wrong with her." and stormed ahead with the group.


	2. Chapter 2

Being used to the usual tension in the group, Dredd thought little about the interaction between the single mother and Anderson. From what he could tell, no one in the group was seriously injured, and that was all he cared about. The virus spread through exposed cuts or key areas in the body such as the mouth and eyes. If he hadn't had a helmet or had somehow lost it, he would be wearing goggles right now. Some in the group already thought of that and wore them religiously because it was one of the few precautions they could take to avoid catching the virus without actually getting bitten. Any contact with zombie blood or a scratch from a zombie was another sure-fire way of getting infected.

"We need more face and body protection if we can find any." Dredd said to the group as he passed some stores - one of them being the same convenience store Anderson had found. He could hear the zombies not far away, so he kept his voice down. The zombies could pick up on any yells even around a giant Mega-Block.

"Anderson, did you see anything worth stopping for?" he queried, the AR-15 now his active weapon of choice again.

She quietly jogged up to the front of the group so she didn't have to yell to be heard, "Yes, sir, it's actually what I wanted to talk to the group about earlier. I found a store that has plenty of the things we need, except of course, ammunition and armor for the civilians." She said and lightly grabbed his arm to lead him in the direction of the store, trying not to think of how close she was to Dredd.

Anderson could hear the low gasping-moans of the zombies nearby now, she kept her free hand on her Desert Eagle in case she needed it suddenly. Dropping Dredd's, arm she went to a door covered in planks of wood and other rubbish. Anderson pulled it all down as quietly as possible then ushered the group inside. After Dredd glared at her, he solemnly entered, she followed suit and barricaded the door from inside.

* * *

"When I lead those creeps away earlier, I found this place and stocked up on food and supplies," she threw the bags down near a stack of molding boxes, then proceeded to show the group where the exits were, "make sure you guys don't open these doors. We cant have any of those monsters coming in here."

Dredd nodded briefly, pleased that at least making him worry and get angry wasnt the only thing Anderson had done while she ran off. Yes, he was rather pleased with what she had found here, it sometimes took a while before they could find new convenience stores to clear out. "This is promising. Everyone, get acquainted with what the store has to offer, and please keep your voices low."

If any enthusiasm was displayed amongst the others as they explored, it was on their faces. The joy shifted to disgust as they realized the place was rotting, once fresh food covered with maggots, and the air filled nasty smells, but they were still happy. Even some giggles could be heard when silent enthusiastic expressions were made as essential items were found, even bandages, medicine, and other tools that were still good.

"You have 30 minutes if time permits," Dredd told the others. He glanced towards the door, glad there were no windows.

"Alright, Anderson. Thinking we shouldnt stay here long. Might do better in the upper levels of the Mega-block nearby." He said directly to her, seeking the other Judge's opinion.

"Hm, yes, I agree. I'm not getting any readings on life so we should be safe inside. But there is something else…" Anderson paused to focus on what she was picking up, her eyes shut tight, "there are zombies surrounding it. I'm not sure how many, sir." Anderson gave Dredd a sheepish look. "Its hard to pick up what the zombies give off because they aren't living and they aren't dead, sir." She shifted from one foot to the other. Anderson could hear some of the group make little excited noises when they found the canned goods isle. Maybe now they wouldnt die from malnutrition and starvation. They could even look around the pharmacy section for vitamins. Maybe there as a truck or something nearby that still worked, they could load it up and travel in that. And if they found the right materials they could have an armored vehicle, _I doubt it. There werent enough materials before this plague, why would there be enough now?_

"Maybe it's better to stay here then, even if it's a bit…unkempt." little hairs on Dredd's neck raised as he heard the zombies nearby. "If we don't raise our voices, it might work…" he muttered as he leaned against a table, scratching his chin briefly as he glanced sidelong in thought.

It appeared this was the only level in this building too, as it was squeezed against others, so Dredd was quite sure they need not worry about things entering from above. If they were going to stay here, he supposed he could express how annoyed he was earlier, so long as neither one of them ran off solo again.

Dredd's sharp, focused gaze turned back to Anderson after a short pause, "Just dont bolt ahead like that, it's supposed to be a RULE that we stick together as a group, remember? What if you couldn't turn around? Both of us could've been stuck fending off zombies, then what? Nothing good would've been gained. You scored some luck this time, but what about the next?" Dredd clenched a fist, managing to keep a low growl. Dredd seldom yelled for ANY reason unless the zombies made too much noise.

"I cant lose another Judge, especially not you." There, he said it, with that in mind, he wondered if that was enough to get his point across. He was having trouble controlling his anger, for he was shaking a bit, but he tried to keep it subtle even though there was no use hiding it from Andersons's psychic abilities.

* * *

Anderson was taken aback by his abrupt outburst. Her mouth moved to form words but none came out.

"I..I…Sir, I'm sorry. I just didn't see a better way out of it and I had thought that it would have been wiser if the group survived and had at least one Judge as opposed to a horde of creeps on top of them!" she said in a hushed voice so as not to tip off the zombies just outside the door. Anderson's gaze fell to the floor, Dredd's boots had suddenly become very fascinating. _Why is he so angry at me! It was the right thing to do! He should be glad that I lead those freaks away, I gave the group a chance at surviving! _

Anderson looked up again, squared her shoulders and was ready to argue with Dredd. She could feel his anger pulsating, and see his fists clenched tight. If not for the gloves, she was sure his knuckles would be white.

"We've survived for a number of months that I've lost track of…every time we mobilize as a group things improve each time because there are more eyes. It's more efficient…" Dredd managed to keep his voice down easily enough but there was definitely a razor sharp edge in his gruff voice. "Safety in numbers, no matter how well prepared are." He reminded her.

"The only thing we have left worth protecting is them," he gently reached for Anderson's chin. "And the only thing I have left protecting is you…"

A knot formed in his throat, Dredd had never dared show affection to ANY other Judge or even a citezin before the zombies overran Mega City One, because he didn't want to lose them due to his reputation or misfortunate events. But now that they were fighting for survival, he decided he might as well reveal the other side as to why he was angry, he wasnt going to deny the feelings from himself after all. When there was only a small band of survivors left amongst billions of zombies, there was little stopping him from trying to get out of his shell and at least try to express his feelings…

* * *

Anderson's stomach tightened and she felt a little light-headed, _Did Dredd just show affection to me? THE JUDGE DREDD? Someone pinch me! This cant be real. Maybe he has a fever? _Anderson leaned into his touch a little and cupped his hand in one of hers. She could feel the sting of tears but held them back, "I…understand, sir." Whatever this was, whatever was happening, Anderson needed to hold onto it. It brought a new meaning to 'survival'.


	3. Chapter 3

_**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! AND YES, THERE IS A PLOT! :D  
**_

* * *

"That is why I was mad earlier…" Dredd huffed a sigh and gently lowered his hand. "If it means anything, we can cut back on the formalities. We are the only Judges left that we know of." He shrugged, clearly more interested in just doing what it took to survive and anything possible to avoid losing one of his few close friends left in this rotten world. There was nothing left to live for except for Anderson, hope, and these survivors, because they needed someone to look up to…

"I'm sorry for running off like I did, sir…I mean Dredd." she said sheepishly. "I know I should have tried to stay with the group or least give you a heads up but there wasnt enough time and I know that is no excuse-" Anderson rambled on before being cut off by the sound of someone trying to come in through the front door. Both Dredd and Anderson already had their weapons of choice out and ready, with their backs to the group.

"Its the zombies!" Anderson said in a forced calm voice

Dredd was tired of the non-stop action with the zombies just like the others were. "Drokk, just what we need." Dredd growled as he drew the AR-15 and made sure it had a magazine full of ammunition ready to go. "We **still** need ammo, I'm about to start using explosives if we don't get more soon." he growled, raising the shotgun readily. He said the latter statement in a tone that indicated a discrete _'dont look at me funny if i go ape-shit on these motherfuckers'-_sort-of-look.

Zombie groans and moans could be heard through the heavy door. Everyone stood tense and ready for action, but it took a while before the attempts got more impatient and violent. Dredd wasn't going to waste ammo unless the door got busted. If that happened, there was a high chance they would have to use explosives if they got overrun with these freaks. They had a way out through the exit doors but if the zombies got too far into the single level floor, they had a big challenge ahead of them.

Dredd didn't like the idea of losing some of the survivors in this situation, but it was even riskier than the one they had been in just an hour or two before…

And of course, Dredd's improving mood was ruined all over again as a zombie burst through the door with a loud smash, followed by a sea of zombies behind it. How the hell would they ever get out of this mess? "Be ready to move!"

'_Fuck this_' Dredd thought as he grit his teeth and unhooked the Lawgiver from his belt. **"High-ex!"** Dredd commanded as he fired with the other shotgun, an explosive round shot out over the first few zombies' heads into the crowd outside the door, a loud explosion going off and shuddering the floor beneath their feet. It was time to make use of all the explosives he had, and there was no holding him back.

"Almost out of ammo!" she cried out over the cacophonous corpses.

"Use my other shotgun," Dredd offered to Anderson. His hands were full but if she could get to it, it was strapped to his back across the sheath for the machete. The stock would be easy to reach underneath the light backpack Dredd had started carrying since the apocalypse started.

He focused on taking full advantage of the numerous explosives he had saved, taking out several zombies ahead and slowing down the waves as they tried to get through the door that wasn't big enough for them. Eventually they'd have to escape through the back, and all was quiet on the other end…for the time being. The plaza was big enough it'd take time for the zombies to figure out another way in.

Dredd tried to keep his peripherals on the rest of the group to help them out, but with so many to deal with at the door, he was kept busy.

"Only if I really need it!" Anderson yelled over her shoulder as she ran to help the group. She sliced through a handful of zombies, that blocked her path, their bodies dropping like a sack of potatoes. She didn't want to take one of Dredd's weapons in case he needed it. Anderson was certain he would need it more than her since he was taking the zombies head on, and she was just handling the stragglers that made it past them.

By the time she made it to the group, it was too late for anyone who was pinned down or already injured by the zombies. Some lay dead on the ground, others leaned against the walls - shivering and vomiting. Lucinda was huddled in a corner, with her only surviving child now.  
Anderson made a quick round, being sure to the hack the heads off the already dead, and the fresh dead. It would only make things worse if they came back and made trouble for the lingering survivors.

She ran to the exits, and quickly found that they were no longer secure. The barricades appeared to be torn down from the inside. Looking around, the only one she suspected to have pulled it all down was definitely dead. He lay beneath the mutant zombie. Anderson cautiously walked towards his corpse to check his remaining thoughts. _What have we here?_ The dead man's last thoughts revealed that he did in fact pull the barricade down with the intention of….what? The remnants of thoughts dissipated before she could get the information but it was obvious. He wanted to sabotage Dredd and Anderson, he never did trust either of them so it only made sense.

Anderson looked up and noticed Dredd was becoming overwhelmed by the pure mass of moaning zombies fighting to get inside. She sprinted over and continued to fight by his side.

* * *

Everyone was getting frustrated and upset with the situation. It was almost too much for them to handle, being such a small group. Dredd was grimacing and knew he was taking more effort than he'd like to kill all these zombies. His adrenaline level was skyrocketing and it was not going to stop any time soon. That feeling which he felt like he didn't even have time to breathe was back. It was usually disconcerting in the back of his mind, but many times the realization didn't even phase him.

"We have to get to higher ground, somehow!" Dredd snarled. "We can't hold them off forever like this." his ammunition even for the Lawgiver would soon be depleted. So he forced himself to conserve half of the explosive rounds he had left and focused on expelling more of the AR-15 rounds again, tossing the grenades he had, instead of using the Lawgiver. It was a little easier for him to wield a single weapon instead of two after all, but even he had hungry zombies lunge at him a bit too close for comfort on more than one occasion, as they surrounded them in the tight space. '_We have to push everyone back somehow_' he thought as the grimace on his face deepened into another scowl as time dragged on.

Dredd managed to cross-step back a few paces before nearly getting bitten in the side from a zombie almost directly behind him - he spun 180 degrees counterclockwise to deliver a swinging side/heel kick to the zombie's midsection and forced it back before it could grab his leg. To keep the distance closed, he swung the AR-15 stock at it with pure brute force before pivoting a bit towards the front and shooting at yet another.

"I'll hold them off while you get the others out of here and too higher ground!" Anderson shouted, avoiding the rather slack jaw of a zombie. Its tongue lolled to and fro, dripping some kind of rancid saliva. She delivered a swift blow to the creep's rotted head, ultimately caving it in and releasing a bloody-mist and bits of decayed grey-matter.

She grabbed a zombie, that was going for Dredd's back, by the scruff of the neck and yanked it away from him. It managed to twist and contort it's body so it was facing her, and using her moment sent itself straight at Anderson. _SHIT!_ Pure instinct kicked in and Anderson soon lodged her knife between the creature's eyes; efficiently putting an end to it.

With a grunt Anderson said "The group has thinned out a bit, someone decided to open one of the back exits and let some in." another grunt, "But he's been dealt with."

"Let's move people!" Dredd called to the group and pushed his way between them, firing between two people at a cluster of zombies moving towards their left flank. Two survivors near him shot down the rest. Dredd decided their only hope now was to fall back to an area where they knew weapons had been found in the past and then haul ass up one of the empty mega blocks to take a breather. They would probably have to clear out some of the lower levels again but there were often weapons stores in them they could break into as well. So there were a couple options, lucky for them. That is if they even made it out the back door.

Not all the zombies charging in through the main entrance found the backside of the plaza yet, but he could hear enough of them through the loosened barricades enough that he was worried. Of course, such worry was absent, replaced with a usual scowl on his lips as he kicked open the door with a grunt and fired at a zombie moving towards them from about halfway across the street. He turned right then left, swiveling about in full alertness as he ushered the group out, hoping the last of them would survive this horrible mosh-pit of zombies.

* * *

Anderson managed to cut through most of the remaining zombies at the front. When they were milling about and climbing on top of each other, struggling to get in the door, Anderson fired off a round of High Ex at the ceiling; effectively blocking off the front and preventing anymore creeps from getting inside.

She ran back towards the group, bringing up the rear and knocking off any straggling brain chompers that dared messed with them.

Dredd warned the others to keep moving as they left the building, though they slowed to wait for Anderson. From the right, the zombies were getting closer- because they were runners, they gathered in hordes faster than the walkers would.

His heart was still racing. He exhaled a sharp breath of air, his lungs stinging, hoping they made it to the next Mega-block in time. "Anderson!" he yelled, looking back to make sure she was on her way. If not, he would turn back around and make sure she had enough cover to get out alive.

* * *

She could see the group up ahead and picked up her pace, failing to see the top half of a zombie laying just to her right. It's arms stretched out and knocked her feet out from beneath her. Anderson's blood soaked face met with the cold hard ground. Something grabbed her arm and was pulling on her Judge suit. In a haze of confusion she turned her head and was face to face with a creep. Wet gurgling noises rose from deep within it's throat.

"Grraaargh guuurggh"

All Anderson could do was utter a shocked cry for help. She twisted and contorted her body, vainly trying to escape the icy grasp of multiple zombies who were now upon her. They had seen their chance and had taken it.

* * *

"Go on!" Dredd yelled at the rest of the survivors to keep moving, anger rising even more in his current state of rage. If Dredd wasn't angry before, he was insanely mad now. He was enraged and his hearing picked up the yelp from his friend like a long-ranged radar- it was almost instinctive.

'_No, I won't let them get her!_' Dredd thought briefly in the back of his mind, his heart beat pounding in his skull. He bolted, and it only took a couple brisk steps to get back to the door. Prior to reaching the door, he tossed a grenade just a few feet in so as to push back some of the zombies near Anderson. He delivered the grenade only once he was facing the entrance directly so he could see where he needed to throw it so he didn't harm Anderson from the shrapnel. He drew the machete in the other hand and fired at another zombie trying to get up from the far side of the main entrance - it missed the explosion. Some of the others didn't get direct hits so he swung the machete and AR-15 around, a perfect mix of using a blunt weapon and mele-weapon. He was a whirlwind of black leather, eliminating two of the zombies that had reached for Anderson instantly. Luckily, only a small group had survived the destruction of the main entrance, and half of the others were caught by Dredd's grenade.

He was glad he still had a few grenades, because he didn't want to waste his Lawgiver ammunition until they went through the Hall of Justice again later on.

When the zombies were finally dead and the corpse that had tripped her was sliced clean through the head by a low swing of the machete, Dredd sheathed the bloody-machete again and helped up Anderson, his eyes glancing at the rear exit as he heard more zombies from their right.

She was breathing heavily from vigorously fighting off the zombies as Dredd hacked his way towards her. Blood flew all about her as the grenade had gone off, resulting in bits and chunks of rotted flesh landing on her. Leaning on Dredd for support, she groped around for her Lawgiver.

"Oh no..." She groaned, "Looks like I failed assessment again, sir." Anderson attempted to joke. Grabbing her Shasqua from the ground, she readied herself for any walking corpse that threw itself at them.


	4. Chapter 4

_**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!**_

* * *

Dredd snorted. Had the situation been less life-threatening, he might have chuckled. The only sign of amusement was the slightest quiver of the right corner of his lips. Once Anderson was on her feet again, he moved forward. "It's clear outside for a bit, we should have little trouble catching up with the others for a short while. Double time." Dredd would stop if Anderson was hurt, but thus far she was moving fine, so he didn't feel the need to stand around. He wanted to make sure the group was still safe, as well.

His heartbeat still echoed in his ears, dulling the sounds of the zombie moans and growls in the distance.

When they reached the middle of the street, with no group in sight, Anderson tried to get his attention, without capturing that of the zombies. "Dredd...Dredd!" she kept saying, but it appeared as though he was off in his own world, or perhaps thoughts. Finally he turned to her with a scowl, obviously still high, on adrenaline, from the little run-in inside the general store. Anderson pointed up ahead and off to the left a bit, "Zombies!"  
Anderson and Dredd ran a little faster, but not fast enough. The small group of zombies already had their scent, and they wanted more. Picking up speed, the undead creeps sprinted towards them. Fear spiked inside of Anderson. Like being struck by lightening, it electrified every nerve and fiber in her, causing her to lose control of her breathing, her running even became clumsy resulting in nearly falling flat on her face a few times, if not for Dredd.

Anderson could sense Dredd's open fear, and concern for the others as well, when he turned to see more zombies. _Seriously?_ He growled and began to bolt. Another block or so and he saw the group running up ahead. They too had kept at a sprint to keep their chances of survival high. He had his AR-15 ready but hoped there were chances of outrunning them this time.

He whistled to the group to make sure they responded as humans should. They were headed to the mega-structure up ahead in hopes to get a real break for a while. The blast doors seemed to work fine on all the doors.

Prior to the rapid spread of infection, many of the mega-structures had shut down their blast doors to keep the zombies from breaking in as easily as they would with smaller, older buildings. If a blast door was down at the next building, Dredd would enter the code or hack it then shut the doors once everyone was inside. He just hoped those zombies wouldn't swarm after them again.

When Dredd's whistle reached the group's ears they slowed down and looked back to see who it was. To their obvious relief and horror it was the Judges trailed by a small mob of zombies. The group picked up speed again and reached the blast doors before Dredd and Anderson arrived, panting and out of breath. Anderson stood guard with a few of the other survivors as Dredd set to punching in all the possible access codes.

"I'll stick to the rear of the group, Anderson. You go ahead once the door is open and I'll cover our tracks." he turned his head about to check for charging zombies. There were none quiet yet, but he heard them…

"We still need ammo. Hope there's a store or two on this big ass block." One of the men muttered, checking his supply as Dredd worked on the blast door. When all possible codes failed he resorted to hacking into the computer mainframe. Huffing a sigh which sounded more like a grunt, he punched in the code. It opened with a loud mechanical buzz- a pleasant sound to hear, given all the crap they had to go through just to get to another mega-block.

When the doors finally opened up, Anderson's breath hitched.

Would they be greeted by an even bigger mob of zombies or would it be more survivors like them?

Silence. Silence and darkness greeted them like an old enemy, for it held many secrets that Anderson would soon discover, and reveal. She slowly entered the building, Desert Eagle at the ready in case anything decided to pounce on them. She controlled her breathing, forcing herself to remain calm and remember her training. Dredd brought up the rear swiftly, bringing the group closer together as they started the perimeter check.

And with only seconds to spare, the group made it inside - managing to close the doors just in the nick of time, trapping one of the brain munchers beneath it. The bones crunched letting out a wet, sickening pop, and the rancid blood pooled around what was left of the corpse.

"We can't rest yet. We need to make sure this level is secured and then find shelter." Anderson said with a calmness she didn't feel. Some of the group members sighed, nodded, and brought their guard back up, but didn't complain. She was glad they didn't complain, because when they did, it made her feel terrible about forcing them to move when they needed to rest. She was always reminded of not being able to provide them with a form of sustenance when their stomachs protested audibly in the night, as they slept. Swallowing her sudden sadness, Anderson began scouting the area for any survivors and zombies. Dredd followed suit and started at the opposite end of the room from where she began. The group was relatively static - just standing with their weapons at the ready and a watchful eye on their leaders, their protectors, their Judges.

"All clear." Anderson spoke into her comm, which they used for short distance communications. She didn't want to alert any unwanted attention by yelling across the littered atrium.


End file.
